Saturday 6 April 2013

What's in the box?

If you've been visiting this blog lately (and thank you for your visit, especially to those of you who have chosen to follow me - I appreciate all of you!) you might have noticed my current obsession with the Alterations Cameo Frame die. (Just in case you haven't, this is the kind of thing I've been making)-

Back in the day, having your photo taken was a big event, and the photos would often be displayed in rather grand cabinets, so to follow the theme through I've made a little "cabinet" for my frames.

I made the box and the frames out of some chipboard, recycled from the sheets that come in the big boxes of envelopes we use in the office ),  (the construction is similar to that for the Steampunk Carriage Clock - see here for details) covered with "leather effect" card - brown card which I'd coated with gloss gel medium, brayered over the whole sheet. The brayered gel leaves a lovely "grained", leathery texture.  The filigree panels I cut on my Silhouette Cameo and gilded with Gilder's Paste ( in real life they're a lot brighter and look metallic).  The handles are Sam Browne belt studs (from a well-known auction website- I found plenty of choice by searching for Sam Brown studs, useful if you have trouble getting hold of Tim Holtz's hitch fasteners).  The hinges also came from that same auction site (try looking for jewellery box hinges or fittings) held on with tiny brads.


Inside, the frame fits snugly - I cut the frame shape three times out of chipboard - this time I wanted the negative space.  I  layered them so that I had a frame that was the right size to fit my box, then covered  the shape with a scrap of brown velour fabric left over from a dressmaking project, before sticking it into place.  I lined the doors with some Art Nouveau paper, and painted a couple of scraps of polystyrene with brown acrylic and stuck them inside the box to act as stops for the doors.  
 
And that was it, job done.  I'm entering this in the Try it on Tuesday challenge - Recycling.
 
Thank you for taking time to visit, and you're welcome back at any time.  See you soon!

Hugs,

Keren

5 comments:

ria gall said...

Hi Keren
This makes the photo very regal being in the frame and then the cabinet for it to be housed. Real work of art, lovely
Ria

Jenny Marples said...

This is such a fantastic idea! It's the sort of item that would get them wetting themselves on Antiques Roadshow (if only they realised it was modern!) Brilliant work Keren, hugs Jenny x

Meggymay said...

Fantastic recycling, a great way to showcase the beautiful frame.
Thank you for joining us at TioT's this time.
Yvonne

Annie said...

This is stunning work Keren :-)

LOve the cabinet and the cameo die. Brilliant embossing and images

TFS

Annie x

My name is Cindy said...

What a fabby idea and a great recycling project!! That frame is pretty nifty too. Thanks for joining us at TioT. Cindy